Beat Him

“SERIOUSLY? OUR TEACHERS GAVE YOU A TASK? THAT TASK?”

Ah Young tried herself not to laugh at Jin Hee after the latter told her about the reason why she got summoned to the faculty office. They’re currently inside the library choosing some books to borrow for their next classes. Ah Young kept on bothering her to spill everything since the former noticed how pre-occupied Jin Hee was since this morning.

With an exhausted tone in her voice, Jin Hee responded. “They said, before we graduate, we should attend the Outside School and enjoy. We should, you know, bond with each other. They said that, even we’re elites don’t mean that we shouldn’t join these kinds of school activities. Of course, we’re still students so we’re intended to join these kinds of school activities and such,” she even quoted the word ‘we’ in the air.

“*Jin Hee-yah, jal deuro. To tell you frankly, it’s harder to persuade them to come with us to the Outside School than to pet and train a dog. Trust me,” Ah Young said as she grabbed a Trigonometry book. (*Listen here, Jin Hee)

“Thank you so much for the encouragement, Ah Young-ah. It really helped me a lot. Jinjja gomawo~,” Jin Hee said in a sarcastic tone, tapping her classmate’s shoulder.

“Hey, I’m just telling the truth so that you’ll be aware of the possible outcome of your task. It may not be obvious on their faces but they’re legit business-minded. Those boys will not gonna be in the Top 20 of the richest students in Empire Academy if they’re not being trained in business and stuff. Time is just too precious to them to, you know, to waste it on some random school activities,” Ah Young told her.

“Yeah… you’re right,” Jin Hee muttered and she sighed. “Haah. Why those rotten brats did even appointed me as their class president? Just look at now, I was given a huge task. It’s not like I don’t want to talk to them or have interactions with them, no, not that. But, I just want to study and have a peaceful high school life until I graduate. I didn’t even dream to be the class president of a class full of elites.”

“Everything has its own reasons. We don’t know what is it as of now but sooner or later, we’ll know what and why this happened—especially you getting appointed as our class president,” Ah Young smiled at her and patted her shoulder. “Just, good luck in convincing those eighteen boys! I’ll cheer you up and even form a cheering squad for you!” she laughed and walked ahead when they went out of the library.

“Wow, really Ah Young? Thank you so much for your encouragement. Weomae abeoji,” Jin Hee said sarcastically. Shaking her head, she followed Ah Young.

Jin Hee’s mind is totally blank. She’s too pre-occupied.

Their three periods of classes already finished and she couldn’t get any of those lessons since she was too pre-occupied because of the task, a huge task for her, that their homeroom teacher gave to her.

Hay… why the heck all of the people here were all business-minded? I am too but this is just way too much…

She bit her lower lip, slightly scratched her head as she read the names on the list that their teacher gave to her.

“Yoon Baek Hyeon, Moon Min Seok, Ban Ryeo Wook, Hwang Chan Yeol, Cheon Ha Neul—gosh, even the school council president will not attend? What kind of sorcery is this?—Sawada Ryuuji—he’s one of the transfer student here—Min Tae Yang, Koo Han Sol, Oh Eui Chul, Lee Dae Woong, Ahn Suk Hwan, Do Jung Soo, Geum Sang Woo, Choi Eun Jae, Han Joo Hyuk, Kang Woo Shin, Kim Jeong Suk, Nam Soo Pyo…weomae abeoji! Who will be the first one that I’ll be going to convince here?” she frustratedly asked herself. “I can’t even find some of them because they’re currently on their business trips and stuff. Some of them ditch classes and some of them really took a day off from school—I mean, how could I possibly find these brats and convince them? This is just insane.”

I don’t think I could do this anymore.

Ding dong ding!

Their class in Literature just ended and everyone went out for lunch. Jin Hee stood up, fixing and keeping her things and went out as well. Everyone is going to the Dining Hall of the school but in Jin Hee’s case, she’s going to the glasshouse for lunch since Ah Young is not around to accompany her because the latter went to an urgent business meeting this lunch.

Just heir things.

“Jin Hee-agassi, good noon—ah!” Jin Hee automatically turned her head when she heard a loud ‘thud!’ and something fell as well. (*Agassi means ‘Miss’ in Korean)

Ah, I already knew who it is.

Eui Chul raised his head and met Jin Hee’s gaze. He smiled and awkwardly greeted her again. “Go-Good noon…”

“Oh, it’s you, Eui Chul-ssi,” she muttered and immediately helped the poor guy to stand up. “You always tripped and fall. You should be careful, next time.”

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Ehehe… sorry, Agassi.”

Jin Hee could say that Eui Chul could easily get her attention. The guy has brownish-blonde hair that has a length just around his shoulder. The guy looked fair and if she didn’t know that he’s a boy, she could actually mistake him for a girl. That’s how pretty he was.

“Just call me Jin Hee, you know? No need to be so formal to me,” she told him.

He chuckled. “Just let me call you that. It’s nice calling you like that, Jin Hee-ssi. Ah, by the way, where are you going this lunch?”

“At the Glasshouse. I’ll have my lunch there.”

Eui Chul went silent for a second then he spoke once again. “You’re kidding.”

Jin Hee slightly raised her left brow. “Kidding about what?”

“You’re eating in the Glasshouse? Why there? Why not in the Dining Hall? It’s comfortable to eat there than in the Glasshouse,” he asked.

How could I possibly answer him that I couldn’t eat there because I have my own lunch and because I couldn’t afford the meals there?

“Umm… nothing. I just want to eat at the glasshouse. The place is just peaceful and not noisy for my liking so I could relax there as well,” she managed to respond.

“Ah really?” Eui Chul asked then he grinned. “Well then, can I come with you?”

“Eh? Umm… o-okay, if that’s what you like…” she subconsciously responded in which she kinda regretted.

Since I already agreed… maybe I should just let him…

Grinning widely, Eui Chul excitedly held Jin Hee’s hand to pull her and they ran as they went out of the building and ran towards the glasshouse. “Leggo!”

“Ah, jamsimaneyo, Eui Chul-ssi! Take it easy, don’t run you might trip yourself again and fall!” Jin Hee tried to pull Eui Chul to stop him but the latter didn’t even listen to her and just excitedly ran towards the glasshouse.

There’s one thing that Jin Hee realized aside from the glasshouse is huge and elegant, is that she realized something about Eui Chul.

She found Eui Chul as someone cheerful and comfortable to talk to. He’s kind of a noisy guy that loves to tell jokes. She enjoyed his company as well as they both enjoyed their lunch together though she didn’t really expect that he had his own lunch box with him.

Wait, did I forget about something?

*Oh Eui Chul 오의철

Her eyes widen when she remembered the list. Right, he’s also one of those students who don’t want to join in the Outside School!

Maybe I should talk to him about it.

“Ah, right… Eui Chul-ssi,” Jin Hee started the conversation and Eui Chul immediately looked at her. “Umm… I want you to join us at the Outside School next month like… I really, really want you to go with us.”

“Eh? Outside School?”

“Yes, the Outside School,” she shifted on her seat when she finally got Eui Chul’s attention. “I discovered that ever since you’re in your 7th Grade, you didn’t join this kind of school activity. So… I want to convince you to join us next month. We’re already in our Senior year and this will be our last Outside School. So, we should cherish the moments that we’re together with the whole class, don’t you think?”

He responded with a smile and spoke. “I thought about it too. Since this will be our last school year being high school students, we should enjoy joining school activities until it lasts…”

Jin Hee couldn’t help but grin. It seems like she could convince Eui Chul as quickly as she could imagine because of his expression as well as what he said to her.

“But… I’m sorry Jin Hee-ssi but I don’t think I can’t,” he responded with an awkward smile.

Jin Hee didn’t expect that response and felt like she felt how her shoulders fell in place.

Expectations versus reality, indeed.

“E-Eh? Bu-But why, Eui Chul-ssi? This is our last year in high school, right? So we must, you know, join on activities like this with our classmates,” she sounded so desperate convincing him.

Weomae abeoji, it seems like Ah Young is right.

“In all honesty, I want to join the Outside School, Jin Hee-ssi. But…” he slightly scratched the back of his neck after responding to her in a doubtful voice.

“But… what is it?”

“He will not join if I will not join.”

The two of them looked at the glasshouse’s door and saw Lee Dae Woong standing there with his hands on his slack’s pockets. Standing around five foot eleven inches and his dark but slightly wavy hair, he looked at Song Jin Hee sharply. Both Jin Hee and Eui Chul stood up as soon as Dae Woong walked towards them.

“What do you mean?” she couldn’t help but ask, frowning at Dae Woong.

“It’s such a waste of our time. I don’t want to waste my time on such bothersome and boring activity. So, we better enter our offices and face our business partners than to join such boring, childish acts. We’re not Elementary students that you can lure to join anymore. The economy is important here, Missy,” Dae Woong responded.

Wait, what? Did I hear that right?

Her left brow quirked up after she heard his response. Her hands immediately went to her hips and immediately spoke to him. “If you thought that you’ll be wasting your time in the Outside School because it’s only for Elementary pupils, then why are you even here in school?”

His brows immediately creased. “What did you just say?”

“You shouldn’t go to school and attend classes if you think that you’re just wasting your time doing and joining school activities. You can’t call yourself a student in a prestigious, elite school if that’s your perspective,” she told him.

He suddenly scoffed. “Who are you to lecture me, huh?”

“Your class president. The one YOU ALL APPOINTED AS YOUR Class president,” she answered bravely. “And as your class president, it’s my obligation and duty to monitor you inside the classroom, especially to monitor you in joining school activities. Just because you’re all heirs and heiresses, successors in your family’s fields or companies don’t mean you’ll going to disregard everything you’re doing at school. You’re students and you’re also obliged to do what a student must do and one of those is joining school activities and events. We’re already in the 12th Grade, let me remind you. This will be our last year in high school. Do you want to graduate by doing anything here in school? We’re still students, we’re still young, and we’re not yet adults. And whether you like it or not, I will not stop until I’ll be able to convince you to go to the Outside School.”

“Jin Hee-ssi…” Eui Chul muttered helplessly.

Dae Woong facepalmed. “Men, this is annoying,” he muttered and gave Jin Hee a sharp look. “What can we gain in that activity? Can it level up my share’s income and my net worth? Can I earn a million on it?”

“You can’t get anything like that if you’ll join this Outside School. But I know, for sure, that you’ll gain more than those money that you wanted to gain,” with seriousness written in both her expression and voice, she responded.

Dae Woong and Jin Hee stared at each other for a full minute, no one dares to talk nor to break the tension between the two of them.

Suddenly, Dae Woong sighed which made Jin Hee blinked while staring at him. “Okay, you want us to go badly on that Outside School?”

“Yes,” she emphasized her answer,

“Well then,” Dae Woong’s gaze settled to her once again “Beat me.”

“Beat me on a game.”